"It has a young, highly educated population. 60% of its people are under the age of 35. It has a literacy rate of over 85%. Almost a quarter of a million new engineers graduate from its universities every year. And its stock market trades on a price / earnings multiple of just 5.5 times, with a dividend yield of 13%. Welcome to Iran. Is this one of the investment world's big opportunities, asks Merryn Somerset-Webb in her FT column this weekend? It very well might be. The question for foreign investors is whether those attractive valuations offer sufficient compensation for the clear geo-political and resource-related risks that come with investing today in the Middle East. Nobody knows the answer to that question." (03/15/16)

"Russian energy minister says Gazprom, Russia's state gas monopoly, has put forward proposals for the development of oil fields in Iran. Alexander Novak spoke at bilateral trade discussions in Tehran on Monday. He underscored Moscow's desire to strengthen trade relations with Iran and said the countries were considering opening a free-trade zone, according to reports from Russia's Tass news agency." (03/14/16)

"Allies of Iran's reformist President Hassan Rouhani have won a landslide victory in Tehran, in the first parliamentary vote since Iran signed a nuclear deal with world powers. With 90% of the votes counted, the pro-Rouhani List of Hope is set to take all 30 parliamentary seats in the capital. ... The parliamentary result in Tehran is significant because lawmakers from the capital usually determine the political direction of the house, analysts say. However, reformists look to have done less well in constituencies outside the capital." (02/28/16)

"Friday's vote for Iran’s parliament and the Assembly of Experts, the body that will pick the next supreme leader, have assumed an importance well beyond the perennial battles between hardliners entrenched in power and reformists seeking to unseat them. These are the first elections since Tehran reached an accord with major powers to curb its nuclear program, leading to the removal of most of the punitive international sanctions that have strangled the economy over the past decade. The breakthrough took place under pragmatic President Hassan Rouhani, who sees it as a springboard for Iran to reintegrate into the international community and return to world markets. But hardline opponents are determined to prevent it leading to any liberalization of the Islamic system through the ballot box." (02/25/16)

"Iran's defense minister is visiting Moscow for talks about closer military cooperation. Gen. Hossein Dehghan met Tuesday with President Vladimir Putin and also also with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu. ... Russia has a contract with Iran to deliver long-range S-300 air defense missiles, and Tehran also has expressed interest in other Russian weapons." (02/16/16)

"Critics have consistently argued that Iran, like North Korea, will disregard the nuclear deal and develop nuclear weapons covertly with the help of funding generated by the easing of economic and financial sanctions. Is Cruz right? Does North Korea foreshadow the inevitable acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iran? Yes and no. On one level, Cruz is absolutely correct to connect the two; there are many similarities between the two situations that do, indeed, suggest that Iran will eventually develop a nuclear weapon. ... From a policy perspective, however, Cruz is wrong." (02/12/16)

"In the final days before she and Bernie Sanders face the voters of Iowa, Hillary Clinton is leveling the same attack she leveled against Barack Obama. She’s saying that on foreign policy, she's the only adult in the race. In their January 17 debate, Sanders declared that, 'What we've got to do is move as aggressively as we can to normalize relations with Iran. ... Can I tell you that we should open an embassy in Tehran tomorrow? No, I don't think we should. But I think the goal has got to be, as we’ve done with Cuba, to move in warm relations with a very powerful and important country in this world.' When the debate ended, Team Hillary pounced." (01/26/16)

"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani flew to Italy today at the start of his first official visit to Europe, looking to sign multi-billion dollar contracts to help to modernize Iran's economy after years of crippling financial sanctions. Heading a 120-strong delegation of Iranian business leaders and ministers, Rouhani will spend two days in Rome before flying to France on Wednesday, hoping to burnish Tehran's international credentials at a time of turmoil across the Middle East." (01/25/16)

"Iran's oil ministry issued an order to increase production by 500,000 barrels a day as the country moved ahead with plans to add supply to a glutted market even at the risk of contributing to a price collapse. The increase is possible now that Iran is unfettered by sanctions on its crude exports, the ministry's news agency Shana reported Monday, citing comments by Roknoddin Javadi, managing director of state-run National Iranian Oil Co." (01/18/16)

"Iran removed the core of its plutonium reactor and filled it with cement on Monday, paving the way for economic and financial sanctions to be lifted soon. The work that effectively rendered the reactor at Arak harmless was the last major hurdle for Iran to fulfill its commitments under a landmark deal reached just shy of six months ago in Vienna. The International Atomic Energy Agency still must verify that everything was done satisfactorily before U.S. and international sanctions can be lifted. But that is expected to take days, not weeks." (01/11/16)

"Bahrain and Sudan joined Saudi Arabia in severing diplomatic relations with Iran on Monday as the worst crisis in three decades between the region's rival Sunni and Shiite powers drew worldwide expressions of alarm. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, recalled its ambassador from Tehran in a downgrading of diplomatic ties to focus mainly on commercial affairs. Dubai is the base for many Iranian-run businesses. As the diplomatic storm widened, Russia offered to mediate and China was among the nations expressing concern at the implications of the rupture, which was touched off by Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric and is rapidly polarizing the already splintered region." (01/04/16)

"Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it had severed ties with Iran over the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran, in a worsening diplomatic crisis between the regional rivals following the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told a news conference Iran's diplomatic mission and related entities in Saudi Arabia had been given 48 hours to leave." (01/03/16)

"Republicans on Monday blasted Secretary of State John Kerry for suggesting in a letter to his Iranian counterpart that the administration could help the country get around new visa restrictions passed by Congress. ... At issue are tightened security [sic] requirements for America's visa waiver program, which allows citizens of 38 countries to travel to the U.S. without visas. Under changes in the newly signed spending bill, people from those countries who have traveled to Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan in the past five years must now obtain visas to enter the U.S. Top Tehran officials, however, complained the changes violate the terms of the nuclear deal, which says the U.S. and other world powers will refrain from any policy intended to adversely affect normalization of trade and economic relations with Iran." (12/22/15)

"Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree harmonizing the restrictions imposed earlier on cooperation between Russia and Iran with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Tehran's nuclear program. The text of the document has been posted on the official web portal of legal information. This document effectively cancels all previous restrictions imposed on cooperation with Iran in nuclear energy and gives a go-ahead to the development of cooperation with Iran in the nuclear field, in particular, in the area of enriched uranium imports from Iran, including equipment supplies." (11/23/15)

"A French Bordeaux. It pairs well with red meat or stew, but pairs poorly with visiting Iranian diplomats. France's government found that out the hard way when they planned a formal dinner for Prime Minister Francois Hollande and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. French radio station RTL reported that the Iranian delegation demanded a meal with no alcohol and halal meat, which is an Islamic custom that has to do with the way an animal is slaughtered before consumption. The French balked at the idea of a dinner without wine, suggesting they do breakfast instead. But the Middle Eastern country's leadership said that menu looked too cheap, so they settled for a conversation with no food whatsoever." (11/11/15)

"Iran said today it would quit Syria peace talks if it found them unconstructive, citing the 'negative role' of Saudi Arabia, in the latest twist in a spat between the regional rivals that bodes ill for efforts to ease turmoil across the Middle East. ... World and regional powers including Iran and Saudi Arabia met in Vienna on Friday to discuss a political solution to Syria's civil war but failed, as expected, to reach a consensus on the future of President Bashar al-Assad. Iran backs Assad in the war while Saudi Arabia supports rebels seeking to oust him." (11/02/15)

"Iran's Supreme Leader has conditionally approved the nuclear deal signed between his country and six world powers in July. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's official website carries a letter from the Supreme Leader to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani endorsing the deal, subject to certain conditions. The nuclear deal will be rendered void if any future sanctions are imposed on Iran by any country, or under any pretext -- including 'human rights' and 'alleged support of terrorism,' according to the letter." (10/21/15)

"The United States approved conditional sanctions waivers for Iran on Sunday, though it cautioned they would not take effect until Tehran has curbed its nuclear program as required under a historic nuclear deal reached in Vienna on July 14. ... Several senior U.S. officials, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, said actual sanctions relief for Iran was at least two months away. Sunday was 'adoption day' for the deal, which came 90 days after the U.N. Security Council endorsed the agreement reached by Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China under which most sanctions on Iran would be lifted in exchange for limits on Tehran's nuclear activities." (10/18/15)

"Iran's parliament passed a bill on Tuesday supporting a nuclear deal with world powers, signaling a victory for the government over conservative opponents of the agreement and clearing the way for it to be implemented. ... The bill was passed with 161 votes for, 59 against and 13 abstentions, state news agency IRNA said. It had passed a preliminary vote on Sunday by a smaller margin, and will now be submitted to a clerical body for final approval and passage into law." (10/13/15)

"Iran announced overnight that Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian has been convicted, two months after a closed-door espionage trial -- a conviction The Washington Post says is an 'outrageous' miscarriage of justice. ... Rezaian was arrested July 22, 2014 and now has been held longer than the Americans detained during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. Rezaian's only contact with the outside world has been with his Iranian wife and his mother who told ABC News her son wishes he could be covering the news instead of being the news. Rezaian's closed-door trial ended two months ago and no Iranian officials have explained the delay in announcing a verdict." (10/12/15)

"Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday banned further negotiations between Iran and the United States, putting the brakes on moderates' hopes of ending Iran's isolation after reaching a nuclear deal with world powers in July. Khamenei, the highest authority in the Islamic Republic, said last month there would be no more talks with the United States after the nuclear deal but had not declared a ban. His statements directly contradict those of moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who says his government is ready to hold talks with the United States on how to resolve the conflict in Syria, where the two countries back opposing sides." (10/07/15)

"Iraq will begin sharing 'security and intelligence' information with Russia, Syria and Iran to help combat the advances of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS,) the Iraqi military announced Sunday. A statement issued by the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said the countries will 'help and cooperate in collecting information about the terrorist Daesh group,' using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. ... In response to the deal's announcement, a Pentagon spokesperson told CBS News the U.S. remains committed to working with Iraq to defeat ISIS. 'As a sovereign nation, Iraq has relations with many nations and the agreements the Iraqis take that work to our common objective are up to them,' said Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. Steve Warren in Baghdad. 'We recognize that Iraq has an interest in sharing information on ISIL with other governments in the region who are also fighting ISIL. We do not support the presence of Syrian government officials who are part of a regime that has brutalized its own citizens.'" (09/27/15)

"That Iran has uranium within its borders simply is not a surprise to anyone at all. It would be entirely possible, just as an example, to run a nuclear weapons and or power program simply by grinding up pieces of Cornwall. Or, in fact, the back gardens of suburban England. The question is, at what cost? What Iran has announced is that it's found uranium. What it hasn't announced is that it has uranium which it is economic to extract." (09/15/15)

"We (the co-founders of Downsize DC) made bold predictions prior to the Iraq war in 2003. You can still see them at TruthAboutWar.org. We got things right, when nearly everyone else was wrong. We even predicted in advance that Iraq had no nuclear weapons. How did we do that? Well, we knew politicians lie. We knew too that 'War is the health of The State' and good for ratings. We also looked past the politicians and the media, and consulted history instead. Now I want to do the same thing with the Iran treaty." (09/10/15)

"Republican Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen Ted Cruz, R-Texas, headlined a rally today in Washington D.C. protesting the U.S. negotiated deal with Iran. The rally, organized by the Tea Party Patriots, including Concerned Women for America, attracted hundreds outside the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol despite the hot weather." [editor's note: An event featuring Trump AND Cruz, and only "hundreds" attended? IMO, anything short of tens of thousands indicates either dislike or disinterest for the issue, the candidates, or both - TLK] (09/09/15)